Hydrogeology Sector Services
The sector contributes to a better management of water resources by making information and thematic maps available to public and private users through Internet services. In the field of hydrogeology, the range of services includes monitoring, the application of geophysical prospecting methods the performance of tracking tests and the development of models applied to the solution of hydrogeological issues.
Continuous groundwater monitoring
Some construction sites require monitoring of groundwater level, temperature and conductivity, in order to be able to define the most suitable processing techniques and to comply with current legislation regarding the modification and alteration of groundwater during construction. The Earth Sciences Institute provides and installs pressure and temperature probes for such monitoring. The Institute also has a borehole camera to check the suitability of piezometers and/or wells.
Multi-tracking tests
Artificial tracers are frequently used in hydrogeology to solve various hydrogeological and technical problems. They are used, for example, to ascertain possible leakage from channels, to measure the flow velocity of groundwater, to define the protection capacity of a soil against groundwater sources and to verify the existence of a connection between two points in an aquifer. The Earth Sciences Institute has experience in the design, implementation and interpretation of tracing tests in different geological environments such as karst, fissured and granular.
Infiltration tests
Infiltration tests are carried out to test the ability of geological materials to allow water to pass through. This capacity plays a decisive role on many construction sites both where it is important to ensure good drainage and where it is necessary to have a sealed surface. The Institute of Earth Sciences offers as a service the double ring infiltration test according to ASTM D3385-94, which allows the infiltration rate to be assessed for materials with permeabilities between 1*10-6 and 1*10-2 m S-1.
Passive Seismic
Naturally occurring noise in the environment, generated by various sources such as traffic, wind, thunderstorms can be used to trace the composition of the subsoil, using special 3D geophones. With these instruments it is possible to quickly assess, for example, the depth of the rock and the thickness of the sedimentary cover (very important data on construction sites to quantify excavation volumes).
Electromagnetic surveys
Changes in the properties of a soil due to the presence of objects or deposits with different conductivity can be detected through the generation and measurement of an electromagnetic field. Knowing the intensity of the primary field created and the resulting secondary field, maps of the apparent conductivity of soils are obtained.